Pengeringan Lidah Buaya (Aloe Vera) Menggunakan Oven Gelombang Mikro (Microwave Oven)

. Aloe vera (Aloe vera) is known as a useful plant, both as food, cosmetics or pharmaceuticals. Due its high water content, Aloe vera should be processed immediately after harvest. This paper will discuss the drying of aloe vera using microwave oven. The drying process of 50 gr Aloe vera gel and rind using 80 Watts microwave power completed in 140 minutes to reach the final moisture content of 7% wet basis. The drying process in microwave drying shows similar process to that of conventional drying. Dipolar rotation mechanism of water molecules at microwave drying does not affect the drying stage. It shows however shorter process time. The water removal of the drying material occurred in the early minutes until the 50th minute. This because of the high free water surface on the material, while from minute 50 to minute 140 slowed the drying process. Highest temperature of the material during the process is achieved at 57.6 oC in drying of gel and 70.7 oC in drying of Aloe vera rind. It is expected that there is no damage of nutritional content during drying in the this temperature range. Quality analysis of flour and tea of Aloe vera after drying by microwave showed that Aloe vera powder produced within the range of the standard, both visually and microbiologically, but indicated as low quality when viewed from acid content levels. Whether microwave heating mechanism affects the acidity, this needs further study